Separator



A. LEVEDAHL.

SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION men SEPT. 7. 192p.

1,416,040. Patented' May 16,1922.

AXEL Lnvnnannor AUBDRA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'ro rrinnrnivnnn'r rNEU A'rio, TOOL COMPANY, or onroaeo, ILLINOIS, A conronerroiv or DELAWARE.

SEPARATOR.

naieoao.

Specification of Letters Patent. p t t May 6, 1922 Original application filed May 26, 1920, Serial No. 38 1,5522. Divided and this application filed Septemher 7, 1920. Serial No. 408,483.

To all whom-2'25 may concern.

Be it known that T, AXEL LEVEDAHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Tmprovements in Separators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to separators particularly adapted for use in conduits connecting pneumatic or like tools with the means for supplying compressed air or other motive fluid thereto, for separating from such fluid, before entering the tool, moisture, dirt, grit, oil, scale, rust, and such other foreign matter likely to be picked up and carried by the air in its travel from the source of supply to the separator, so that clean dry air is supplied to the tools to prevent premature wearing out of the working parts thereof and washing out the lubricant, and thus avoid damage being done to the tools by the air supplied thereto and prolong their usefulness and make them more efficient.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a separator that will efficiently perform such function and be simple and inexpensive in its construction and operation and further be capable of being easily and readily handled so that it may be connected up with a conduit without diiiiculty.

A further object of my invention is to provide the separator with means for discharging the air into the same in such a manner that the air is caused to rotate in the separator casing and set up centrifugal forces to separate from the air heavier matter carried thereby and thus supply clean dry air to the tool or other working part connected with the outlet end of the separator.

The invention consists further in the mat ters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings-- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a separator of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. a shows the separator installed in a pipe line and located between the end of the latter and the pneumatic tool supplied with compressed air from the compressor.

As shown in the drawings,'the separator comprises a cylinder 1 having its ends closed by screw caps 2 and 3 to make the cylinder air tight. The cylinder is preferably set upright, and for that purpose the lower cap 3 constitutes a supporting base and has legs or a base flange for that purpose. The cylinder and caps are made strong enough to withstandthe pressure of the compressed air passed through the cylinder from the compressor or storage tank, as the case may be, and the caps are made heavy enough to support the piping, to be described Extending into the cylinder 1 through the top cap 2 are a pluralityof pipes 1,4, which project above the cap 2 and are both connected with a main conduit 5 leading from the compressor or storage tank by branch pipes 6, 6, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4-. Each pipe 4 terminates short of the bottom cap 3 and has its lower end closed by a plug 7. Each pipe 4 is provided, between itsclosed lower end and the top cap 2, with a plurality of vertically arranged, disconnected, substantially straight slots 8, these being in alignment, as shown in Fig. 1. The pipes 4c, 4: are arranged, in the cylinder 1, close to the side wall there of, and are so positioned thatthe slots 8, 8 in onepipe face in a direction opposite to the direction of facing of the slots in the other pipe, and furthermoreopen toward the side Wall of the cylinder 1 at such angles thereto that the air discharged from the slots will strike the cylinder wall at an angle and cause the air to have a rotary movement in the cylinder, thereby setting up centrifugal forces to cause all water, moisture, oil, scale, and dirt carried by the compressed air to be forced against the cylinder wall and, being heavier than air, drop or descend by gravity to the lower part of the cylinder, and there be removed from the cylinder through a drain opening 9 in the lower cap 3. This opening is normally closed by a petcook or valve 10.

Extending into the cylinder 1 through the top cap 2 is another pipe 11. This pipe has its lower end closed by a plug 12, and

13. The pipe 11 is positioned in the center of the cylinder so that it will be in the center of the whirling or rotating air and thus be out of the path of movement of the matter removed from the air by centrifugal force. Consequently, the clean and dry air is carried from the cylinder 1 by this pipe 11, and delivered in that condition to the tool operated by the air.

In installing the separator in a pipe line, it is located at the end of the main supply conduit 5, which, as shown in Fig. 4, leads to the compressor 14. The hose 15 leading to the pneumatic tool 16 is connected with the pipe 11 above the cap 2. The separator being so located will remove all dirt, grit, rust, scale, water, moisture, and oil from the compressed air before it enters the tool, and thus clean, dry air is supp-lied to the tool, with the result that the working parts of the tool are saved from premature wear, corrosion and sticking, and furthermore the lubricant is not washed out of the tool. With my separator so made and installed, there is an automatic removal from the compressed air of the matter noted, and the objections heretofore encountered in operating pneumatic tools and other devices so operated are avoided and the tools protected from injury and damage, as is apparent.

While I have shown and described herein the features of my invention as embodied in a separator used particularly with pneumatic tools, it is to be of course understood that separators of my invention could be used with devices and apparatus of other sorts, and I do not Wish to be limited in this application to the particular use set forth nor to the exact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, as they may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention- That feature of my invention which resides in placing the separator between the pneumatic tool and the means for supplying compressed air thereto, is claimed in my co -pending application Serial No. $841,502, filed May 26, 1920, and of which this application is a division.

I claim as my invention:

1. A separator for compressed air, comprising a oylindric casing closed at both ends and having a valve-controlled drain at one end, a. compressed air supply pipe extending into said casing from the other end and arranged close to the side wall of the casing,

said pipe having in its length a plurality of ports arranged to discharge air against the casing wall closely adjacent the pipe and at an angle causing the air to have rotary movement in said casing for setting up centrifugal forces to separate from the air heavier matter carried thereby, and an outlet pipe extending into said casing substantially in the center thereof and having a plurality of ports in its length to carry off the clean dry air.

2. A separator for compressed air, comprising a cylindric casing closed at both ends and having a valve-controlled drain at one end, a plurality of compressed air supply pipes extending into said casing through the other end and arranged close to the side wall of the casing, said pipes having in their lengths a plurality of ports, with the ports in one pipe facing in a direction opposite to the ports in the other pipe, and arranged to discharge air against the casing wall closely adjacent the pipes and at substantially 45 angles causing the air to have a rotarymovement in said casing for setting up centrifugal forces to remove from the air heavier matter carried thereby, and an outlet pipe extending into said casing substantially in the center thereof and having a plurality of ports in its length to carry off the clean dry air.

3. A separator for compressed air, comprising a cylindric casing closed at both ends and provided with a \mlve-controlled drain at one end, a plurality of compressed air supply pipes extending into said casing through the other end and arranged close to the side wall thereof, said pipes having their lower ends closed and terminating short of the drain end of said casing and provided in their lengths with a plurality of elongated slots, with the slots in one pipe facing in a direction opposite to the slots in the other pipe and a ranged to discharge air against the casing wall closely adjacent the pipes and at substantially 15 angles causing the air to have a rotary movement in the casing for setting up centrifugal forces to remove from the air heavier matter carried thereby, and an outlet pipe extending into the casing substantially in the center thereof, and having a plurality of ports in its length to carry off the clean dry air.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I aflix my signature, this 2nd day of September, A. D. 1920.

AXEL LEVEDAHL. 

